Tamper-proof hangers are used to secure a hanger to a support or rack for clothing and to secure a garment to the hanger to prevent theft. A tamper-proof hanger is a hanger which has a gripping member to secure the garment hung on the hanger arms of the hanger. The gripping member normally has two gripping arms which move in the same plane as the gripping arms of the hanger. At the ends of the gripping arms, there is provided shoulder pads which clamp the garment between the ends of the gripping arms and the ends of the hanger arms "at the shoulders". A lock mechanism locks the gripping arms in the clamped position while simultaneously locking the hanger to the rack. The lock mechanism is released by a store clerk to remove the garment for a customer. An example of such a hanger is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,324,352.
It has been found that the existing tamper-proof hangers can sometimes allow for the garment to be slipped off the hanger, since the gripping shoulder pads have only a limited grip on the garment.